Mario’s next big step arrives with a social twist
Nintendo is shipping a larger, louder version of Super Mario Bros. Wonder for the next-generation hardware next spring. The expanded release—officially titled “Super Mario Bros. Wonder – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition + Meetup in Bellabel Park”—was unveiled during a Nintendo Direct as part of celebrations marking 40 years of Super Mario. It’s built for the Nintendo Switch 2 and aims to turn Wonder’s already lively platforming into a stick-around-and-play social space.
The headline addition is Bellabel Park, a dedicated multiplayer plaza layered with party-style minigames that mix speed runs, light combat, and hide-and-seek chaos. Nintendo pitched it as both competitive and cooperative, more like a living hangout than a simple mode select. That’s a sharp pivot from the original’s drop-in co-op: Wonder already supported shared play, but Bellabel Park looks designed to keep groups cycling through short, punchy games long after the main stages are cleared.
Nintendo framed this as a celebration and a strategy. With Super Mario Bros. turning 40—debuting in Japan on September 13, 1985—the company wants a flagship platformer ready for its next console’s launch window. At the same time, it doesn’t want to strand tens of millions of current Switch owners. So, the Switch 2 edition adds content and improvements, while an upgrade path lets existing players come along without starting from scratch.
Bellabel Park, minigames, upgrades, and the cross-gen playbook
Bellabel Park is the kind of hub that makes sense the moment you hear it. You gather, you queue, you play a round, you taunt your friends, you jump into the next one. Nintendo showed three minigames and hinted at more.
- Fast Cash: Tip Tap’s Coin Spree. A frantic race through obstacle courses where timing matters as much as speed. Routes split and rejoin, hazards force detours, and every coin counts. Expect moments where one bold wall-jump wins a match by a single coin.
- Knock ’em Back: Bubble Blaster. A bubble-shooting brawl on arena stages with dangerous edges—think platforms perched above lavafalls and moving floors that punish a mistimed hop. The goal isn’t just to tag rivals; it’s to control space and nudge opponents into hazards, Smash-style.
- Run, Hide Phanto Tag. One player wears a spooky mask and hunts everyone else with ghostly blasts that hand off the “It” role. The twist: players can disguise themselves as flowers and blend into the scenery, turning it into a prop-hunt chase with Mario physics.
That lineup hints at a broader shift: not just more Wonder, but more reasons to idle with friends in the same world. If the plaza supports both local and online play—and Nintendo hasn’t confirmed specifics yet—it could become a regular destination, the way kart lobbies and turf battles keep players returning between big releases.
Beyond Bellabel Park, Nintendo said the Switch 2 edition will ship with “content enhancements and improvements” to the base experience. No hard details yet. Given the hardware change, it’s fair to expect cleaner image quality and snappier loading, but Nintendo stayed quiet on performance targets, visual upgrades, and any new worlds or power-ups. The company promised more info in the months ahead.
Crucially, there’s a clear path for current owners. If you already bought Super Mario Bros. Wonder on Switch, you’ll be able to purchase an upgrade pack to access the Switch 2 edition’s features. And the game card for the new version won’t lock you out of older hardware: plug it into a standard Switch and it will run the baseline Wonder without the Switch 2–exclusive pieces. That’s a small but meaningful nod to backward compatibility as Nintendo bridges generations.
For players, the big questions are practical. Will progress and save data carry across consoles? Will Bellabel Park support matchmaking, custom lobbies, and voice-free communication tools that actually work for party games? Will the upgrade be a flat fee or bundled into a broader expansion pass? Nintendo hasn’t said. The answers will determine whether this is a quick add-on for diehards or a major second life for one of the Switch era’s most successful platformers.
To understand what the new content might change, it helps to remember what made Wonder click. The 2D platformer—launched on Switch in 2023—put “wonder effects” at the center of every stage: pipes snaked to life, stampedes warped layouts, and levels shifted tone mid-run. It also refreshed Mario’s toolkit with the Elephant Fruit power-up, the Bubble Flower, and the Drill Mushroom, and layered in a badge system that let you tweak movement with abilities like dolphin kicks or boosted jumps. Co-op was chaotic but friendly, and online “ghost” play kept runs competitive without direct griefing.
Bellabel Park complements that design. Wonder’s stages are creative bursts; the plaza is bite-sized competition designed for repeat play. It’s the difference between finishing a clever level and sticking around for “one more round” because your friend insists they were robbed by a lava splash. If it lands, the plaza could become the place players warm up before tackling Wonder’s trickier late-game challenges—or the place they end a session when the focus shifts from precision to banter.
This move also fits Nintendo’s broader launch cadence. New hardware needs games that show off “why now,” but building a brand-new Mario from scratch takes time. An expanded edition of a modern hit buys breathing room, speaks to the existing audience, and shows new buyers that the library starts strong. It’s a playbook we’ve seen across the industry, from racers that carry forward with new modes to shooters that relaunch with expanded hubs. The difference here is tone: party games in a platformer’s world, not a standalone Mario Party.
There’s a business angle, too. By keeping the game card backward compatible—new card, old console, standard features—Nintendo reduces confusion on store shelves. By offering an upgrade pack, it reduces frustration online. And by anchoring the reveal to Mario’s 40th anniversary during a splashy Direct, it keeps the focus on celebration rather than segmentation. That’s savvy timing for a company trying to power up a new cycle without splintering the old one.
What to watch next? Three things. First, the scope of “content enhancements” outside the plaza—new stages, remix challenges, or badge variants would push this from “expanded” to “essential” for many players. Second, the structure of Bellabel Park—rotations, ranked ladders, or seasonal tweaks could keep it fresh past the honeymoon period. Third, the nuts and bolts—save transfer, cross-play between Switch and Switch 2 owners, and the social tools that make quick-party modes painless.
Nintendo’s message was careful: celebrate the legacy, spotlight the next console, keep the door open for everyone still on the original Switch. Super Mario has carried the company through transitions before. With Bellabel Park and a more social spin on Wonder, Nintendo’s betting that groups will show up to play—and stick around.